"Good Will Hunting" Film Perfection

 

    Fuck man. This isn't even my first time watching this film, yet I just have to sit here in awe of it again. Look I know it's not particularly novel or new to say that this might be one of the best films ever made, but Good Will Hunting has the goods, whether it be the dialogue, the acting, to the soundtrack, every little bit of it is perfect. It doesn't have action, it doesn't need to be overly funny, yet when Will starts crying, it is absolutely so cathartic. It's just a complete release of everything the film has been building up to until that point. It doesn't feel old, it feels sacred watching this film, just feeling honored to be witnessed to such an achievement. Let's talk about it.

    I don't even know where to start with this film. I'm just gushing over it, yet I need to finish this review, because I don't know how much longer I'll be able to capture the giddiness this film makes me feel. Ultimately, the story boils down to one question: What do you want to do with your life? It follows Will Hunting, this man whose just oozing with potential, yet he finds himself in trouble with the law every couple of months, working dead-end jobs just to hang out with the pals he's known his entire life living in a crummy house. Yet, the film doesn't even focus on that potential. 

    Sure he's a math genius, but it's really about dissecting Will Hunting as a man, asking not how he got, but why he chooses to still be there. That to me is really what the film is trying to interrogate. And it's just wonderful. You learn about his life, his friends, why he refuses to go beyond the surface level, pushing everyone but a select few before they have a chance to abandon him. It's almost learned at this point, and this film is about a man finally learning to heal, to once again trying to give life a real, fair shot. All of which culminates in these just absolutely wonderful speeches from the most important people in his life, asking him what he wants.

    My personal favourite, as I imagine it is for most people is the one Ben Affleck delivers as Chuckie. The way he's really the only person who can truly break through all of the walls he's put up, and tell him straight to his face that he hopes they grow apart, because that means he finally took the shot he's been sitting on for so long is so poignant, I don't know if I've ever listened to anything that felt as impactful. Then the way Will cries into Sean's arms, as he just continues to disarm him by saying it's not your fault, you can just feel a huge sigh of relief lifting off your shoulders as you watch him finally try and start to take his first steps in truly living life, doing more than just meandering around his well-treaded stomping grounds that he outgrew years ago.

    I don't even remember Elliot Smith being the entire soundtrack when I first watched this film, but it just fits. Even in scenes that should be happy, there's just this tinge of melancholy that Smith is able to inject that colours every scene his music is in. It truly makes you feel that shell that Will wears nearly the entire film, even when he's with Skylar, who he thinks might be the first girl he truly likes, that he might be able to let into his own little weird world. This movie is just amazing character work all-around, truly. The way Skarsgard and Williams argued about their philosophical differences in molding this young ball of clay teeming with potential and how they've both managed to begun to try and project themselves onto a young man who already struggles with his own agency is just immaculate.

Final Score: 100/100

    You know this film is good because I didn't even mention any of my bias towards the fact that this film is partially filmed in Toronto. I don't know what to say, I don't even know what to critique, I think perfect comes in many forms, and this film embodies that to me. I didn't even hesitate to give this film a perfect score, my attention span is worse than I'd like it to be, and yet despite being a film I've watched before I put it down and never felt the urge to pick it up, even though I was at home. It's just that gripping, you hold onto every conversation. You don't have to be a math genius to feel like this film just feels quintessential, it feels universal. And that's because it is, it's themes are about life, about love, about making the most of what you have, and taking that brave step forward. Like the film says there's nothing noble about pretending, or being too cool or reserved to ever try, it's better to just go out there, live and see what happens.